Though it was a good idea to have more bodies when attacking the castle, he knew that the uneasy alliance would do well to be proven true. If it didn't work out, of course, they would know whether or not they could trust the kobolds to keep their word. He implicitly felt Kesten was of the same mind in this, so he left well enough alone.
Perception:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
As they approached the meeting site, Daen shrugs at the idea of smoke rising nearby. He didn't want to be seen as imperceptive, "Perhaps he's trying to signal us, or perhaps he's trying to signal others, but we're going to have to go up and speak to him eventually. I, for one, and ready to get this business over with." The swordsman trots his horse through the water, announcing their presence without fanfare or ceremony. There was no need to impress, nor did he consider Akiros' opinion of them something to be overly concerned about.
"We have come with a few more troops than originally discussed." He began talking to the tent as if Akiros was already listening. "I trust that shouldn't hinder our original plan too much. Are you prepared for this?" The question was vague enough to not give too much away to any who may be listening, and their numbers alone should be enough to help with any ambush that he might have set up. There wasn't much left to the process but to execute it, hopefully with as little loss of life as may be necessary.
Currently, Baby is fond of grunts. My other boys think this is hilarious and grunting has been heard in the house ad nauseam. He is also incredibly good at chin quivering, which I always thought before was some sort of caricature, but now have been proved wrong.
Daen looks suspiciously at the scale. Though it seems the little lizards were doing some posturing, Daen still didn't consider them to be a serious threat as of yet. It wouldn't take much for them to root out the infestation if they decided to become a nuisance, but perhasp there was still opportunity here.
"We're here to destroy all enemies to the people and civilization of Brevoy. The Stag Lord has set himself up as king, and it is an odious thing to us. So we are out to destroy him and his ilk." He was still unsure on how to bait them, but he looked over to Cyanne to hopefully see if she would pick up on where he was leading.
Yeah, the baby wins for me now as he likes to make sure I don't get a full nights sleep, but soon I'll be back in major posting shape. I'd very much like to finish this out, as I do enjoy everyone here.
Daen nodded at Luthor as he displayed the proper order of healing. He turned to the corpses to notice that the aurochs had disappeared. Either they were illusions from the start, he had read that some of them could be that dangerous. But in the moments as he waited for his own healing, he pondered what could be the issue. Looking at the owl, it seemed weird that it would hover so, but then again, what did he know of owls. It didn't hurt to ask.
After attempting to speak again, he felt the renewal of the pain, as he was pointing at the owl. Actually right now it hurt to ask. Perhaps he could wait a minute before exerting himself further.
Daen's feet move swiftly across the road, leaving a trail of blood behind him as he forces himself into proper posture. The threat still existed, and his fiancee was still in danger. There's no way he wouldn't be there for her. Adding his silent strike next to Kaz's bellow, he knew the animal had little time left.
Daen's half closed eyes widen in shock as the huge lumbering beasts plow him like a team of oxen. Their enormous bodies slam him between them and he hears and feels the cracking of ribs while one of them also steps on his thigh, gouging out flesh and bruising him all the way down to his boot.
Even in the heat of the moment, Daen was able to retaliate, digging his sword into the beast on his left, creating his own furrow through the thick meat of the weird looking cow. After the animals had scattered, Daen opened his mouth to say something fairly witty, but it was lost in a cough of blood.
Not having the wherewithal to run, nor really thinking his knee could hold the strain, he plunged his sword into the beast nearest him up to the hilt as his opposite hand prepared to draw a rune in the air. As he whispered the component of the spell, his hand drew back into his ribs reflexively due to his pain, causing the spell to end in strange fizzle. "Hells." he managed to blurt out amidst a crimson fountain.
Daen bolts upright, with eyes as bleary as expected for one who went to sleep but a half hour previous. He makes his way out of the tent, sword in hand and looks confused at the cow he sees there. "Shoo." he presents half-heartedly, more annoyed than alert. He channels the eldritch glow into the weapon as a further deterrent.
Move action to stand, move action to move, free action to draw sword during move, swift action to light sword.
Before bed, Daen assists with the chores necessary and enjoys the practice session with the troops. They hadn't received the kind of specialized training that he did. He was fairly grateful for what he received, even if it seemed like slumming it to his family, he couldn't have asked for a better teacher.
Noting the jealous stares of more than one guard as the most beautiful woman within two hundred miles sought him out for a kiss, Daen did his best to handle it with a shrug and a gesture that brought out the idea that he was just lucky. The half noble didn't really believe in luck at all, he did not wish to rely on it, one had to take advantage of his opportunities, and that required courage and the will to succeed. But it was enough to get the men to begrudgingly deal with the half-elf's enviable position.
During his watch, Daen flirted with the idea of shooting the owl. As much as he was suspicious of being watched, but he would have to explain it to Cyanne and Laliytsa, and he wasn't quite comfortable with that. He did mention it to his betrothed, between lingering looks and smooching, but then settled down into a fitful sleep for several reasons.
I've a friend at my gaming table that rolls particularly bad too, usually when he needs to not roll a 1 or 2, he does just that. As a result, he prefers role-play and making interesting characters, and he does just that.
A person might have a strength, or a weakness, but it doesn't make them less valuable as a person. In fact, they may have other things to compensate. But even if they don't, what is done to you by circumstance or crime doesn't make you more or less of a person than what you are.
I guess what I'm trying to say is: We all deal with bad times. We don't blame you for them. Glad you're back.
Daen considered Kesten's orders a moment before answering. Restov and their little group did not necessarily leave on good terms. It was possible that they ordered Kesten to make sure their deaths in the Stolen Lands certain. More likely it was that they'd heard about how underfunded they were and made some concessions that they could while the cyclops was watching. Besides, Kesten seemed the honorable sort. Someone in the party would have picked up on if anything was up, but since things were quiet among them, it was best to take him at his word. "I'd have to say our visit to Restov was more than just a extended shopping trip."
Hearing what Luthor had to say, Daen nodded gravely. "We still have a meeting with the treacherous Akiros. He had promised us a password, we should get them to open the doors, having the extra numbers will be terribly useful. If not, it's best we do some sneaking to get the doors open on our own. If our fae intelligence is right, and we have no reason to suspect it, he's building an army, and we'll need whatever we can get. Striking at their mythical leader will scatter the troops, and they will be far less bold in the future."
The half elf glanced over the preparations, noting their horses, or lack thereof. Without the speed they were planning on, they had no time to waste. "Whatever plans we made last night will have to be put on hold. It will take the extra time we have just to get our small army down to the Stag Lord's stronghold. We'll leave together, and see if we can catch him unprepared."
Okay, Cyanne and I are nearly done with our little side project, but instead of doing a quick wedding, let's just push the narrative to the siege of the Staglord, and then do a proper wedding after the job is done. I'll get a post up soon, but I would like to see other people jumping in on what's happening too, as they have ability.
Daen nodded, he expected the witch to keep the spell in his unique way. "If I end up doing more forging in the future, I might have to seek you out. It makes it so much easier to craft with speed. Doing the same things would require weeks of work, but I have less than ten days to properly answer her, there's just not enough time." Daen didn't know if Luthor understood the timing part of what he said, but he felt comfortable enough since the time they've spent together that he was okay with speaking that out loud. It did help him process it a bit better after all.
Seeing New Acquaintences:
Daen trudged along the path, wishing they'd brought the horses, as he was spending time away from the forge he did not want, but it would be worth it for Cyanne to show him a place of joy and blessing in her younger years, so it was worth it to him. The tower was impressive in it's own elder charm, and Daen nodded approval. Though the feelings of nostalgia were not present in himself, it didn't mean he couldn't enjoy them in proxy. Remaining silent, the half elf gazed over at his beloved to see her inevitable joyous reaction.
It's okay man. As long as you're okay with casting the spell, you've got a scroll of Masterwork Transformation you could possibly teach your familiar. It's up to you if you want to do that or not.
Well, Give me until tomorrow, and I'll get you something much more solid. I was kind of waiting on approval from Luthor on the (Hopefully?) Masterwork Rapier I'd made for you, and I was hoping to have Daen ask permission of her brother on the sly when they visited the bakery. I've been a bit too sneaky when I added to that document a while ago, I figured you probably saw it by now, but maybe you hadn't.
This is likely my fault. Sorry for the lack of communication.
So are we waiting for Kaz? Or does someone want to deal with Daen's query? It would be fairly easy, he will back down if you come up with a reason, such as:
1. Let's train!
2. Let's get married!
3. Let's drink all of the Stag Lord's booze tonight and sleep it off tomorrow, then go!
Daen scratched his chin, hunting for the lone whisker. "Ah, the "Whiterose Chartreuse". I believe it's still among our things. It's not even a particularly good vintage to go to war over. I'm sure the bottles are merely the excuse. He'd go to war whether he had them or not. Akiros said he was going to war, but that it was risky for him. As for the basement, that's a mystery yet, but I imagine we'll discover it when we get there."
He raised his head and addressed the group. "We'll go to the arranged spot in six more days and meet with Akiros there, going to assault his headquarters this week. War or not, we'll strike at his poisoned heart that he will no longer be a blight on the land. Then comes the simple matter of finishing the survey.
We have a slight amount of time to explore before the assault, if we wish to take it. If we do, then we should be able to finish some of the area to the northwest of the Kobolds. If we don't, there's less of a chance we'll be spotted and have them be even more ready for us than they are already, if it's possible. I'm fine either way, but I do hate to be idle."
We have enough time to explore three hexes and still make the rendezvous. We don't have to, if you guys want to press on to the fort.
"It's a girl." Daen stated flatly. "Are there any other good reasons to go mad?" He placed a hand on the small of Cyanne's back as he addressed the boisterous fey.
His mind was already whirling even in the midst of his joy. He still needed to talk to Jhod as soon as he could, if they even had time. But first things first. "If he's gathering an army, can we still make an assault on his stronghold with our numbers?" The half elf doubted he could convince Kesten and his men to come with, although Cyanne might be able to do so. If they already had twenty or thirty at the compound, the extra numbers could by them the time they needed to get the job done. But he still needed more information, and it was agonizingly slow in coming.
Once the questing and finances are settled, Daen made sure to schedule time for several activities to make the time left in town to be fruitful. He scheduled time to shop with everyone, making sure people received decent equipment. Time also needed to be taken to begin some coordination and martial maneuvers with Kaz. But mostly, he wanted to spend some time to work on his special project. The first thing he did was find the proper potion and the scroll, both of which were surprisingly easy to obtain, but there were more tricky things ahead.
Having procured his own tools fairly easily, and with one fairly straitforward request, he was able to find a place and time to make what he wanted to make. Svetlana's father was fairly fond of the half elf to allow him his forge to work, and he took full advantage of the space after hours and early in the morning for the rest of the week. He worked the metal until exhaustion, making and fabricating, firing and filing.
Craft Martial Weapon DC 15 + 10 Voluntary Increase for increased speed. Craft check +8, +2 Masterwork Artisan Tools, +5 Crafter's Fortune Potion. Craft Weapon, 200 Silver value:1d20 + 15 ⇒ (10) + 15 = 25Barest success! 25x25=625 1/3rd week of work. 8 hours a day for 7 days 56/3, 18 hours, 40 minutes of work. Should be done on the 3rd.
Then, It was done. He knew it wasn't quite good enough for her, or quite as balanced. It was a good thing he was prepared to have it magically tempered as well. The scroll was expensive, but it really could turn this blade into something much more useful. All that he needed now was to get Luthor to cast it. He didn't have the time to devote to the theory behind this particular spell, but it was something that should come naturally to witches according to his research. After three hours at the forge on the morning of the third, he cornered Luthor at breakfast.
Leaning in and whispering to him, as to not be overheard, Daen spoke earnestly to his comrade. "I need your help with something. I've spent some time putting something together for Cyanne, a surprise of sorts. Will you help put the finishing touch on it?"
Acknowledging Kesten and nearly looking sympathetic for the chaos the grig had brought to the fort, the half elf spoke up. "It was a fair bit more busy than was desirable, but we finished our business, and we're as ready as we're likely to be for the task at hand. I hope, other than hosting our spy, that your time was less eventful?"
GM, Everyone, thanks for being so patient. I do want to help us move forward, and while I might not be ready for all my games, I think I can do a little something here to help us move forward too.
Daen is planning on going to the bakery and the school, as well as taking Cyanne to meet his swordmaster. I'd even toyed with replacing (Since Aest gave me a free retool of my) Arcana with an additional Ferret familiar. Although it would kind of be awesome, I'm going to stick with what I have for now and also avoid the ferret harem/ love triangle. Not quite ready for that kind of drama.
On spending money, I'd sincerely like to know what kind of scroll, potion or wand availability we have in Restov.
I could probably do this in a PM, but whatever I'm lazy. I. E. GM only:
I was wondering if I could wriggle in a few late nights at the forge in Restov, Daen wants to make a masterwork Rapier for his girl. If he could pick up Crafter's Fortune potion and a Scroll of Masterwork Transformation, I could see him making it work. It would require a roll of a 9 on his crafting roll, and talking to Luthor to cast the scroll. If he teaches it to his familiar, he could Masterwork all of our cold Iron weapons as well (except for mine, which isn't that important), which might be useful in the long run.
That being said, I married a girl who lived in Alaska for a bit, and she tends to swelter when it gets to 70(F) and humid. We all have our crosses to bear. :P
Okay, I updated the loot sheet with what we have found.
The Bottled misfortune is cool, and the potion of invisibility might come in handy. If anyone wants anything, feel free to just take it and let us know and we'll split the remainder.
Now I'm off to see what we gave Svetlana for sale and see if I can come up with where we are at financially.
I think we still need the amount that Svetlana was able to get us, and what kind of money we can get from the various weapons the gremlins had. Daen can memorize Read Magic tomorrow for the scroll and we can figure out what that is at that time. Then we can pick up Kaz's armor and anything else we need for the trip and head out once the week is up.
After the items were discovered and identified, Daen spent an hour or two getting their finances in order. The fact that they didn't have to pay for the restoration spells was a definite boon, they could likely afford some other things as well. He put together a tentative shopping list in his mind and moved along with the group back to the chapel.
After Cyanne introduced the solution, Daen chimed in with further explanation. "We did fight some of the gremlins in public, so you could probably ask around to verify our story as well. I hope this satisfies your curiosity. Perhaps you can even use it to cool tensions in town."
I'll see what I can do to look up what we should have had from before and throw it into the discussion page, Then we can do some off camera shopping and call it good.
The half elf flung the fey blood against the cavern wall and resheathed his weapon as it's color faded. Nodding to Cyanne to make sure she was all right, he went about collecting and codifying all of the various things as Luthor went through the books. "Well, they weren't reading them, that's for sure." He looked about to see if there was anything else hidden that they might have missed.
Perception:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
"Well, with this, we have something to tell our benefactors at the shrine. Now that we've neutralized the Gremlin threat, we have Kaz's healing paid for, unless they try to weasel out of the deal we made. A few more days here, hopefully without as much incident would definitely help us prepare to finish our first job."
I'd be okay with skipping ahead. We still have a fair bit to do. We could finalize our shopping and do some visiting of relatives and friends. Except Leo. I don't want to visit with him.
Daen, seeing his angel struck by the monster that looked like a little girl decided to go all out. He widened his stance and swung the bluish blade with an artful stroke while tracing a rune with his opposite hand. "They'll be no escape for you troublemakers."
Yeah, that would be right on the improvised weapon, but I'm pretty sure if you wanted a hand axe, that would be cool. The boss man has to give the okay though. You could write up both scenarios, and let him pick which one happens.
Also, I've been there. This game is pretty complicated and I can't even count the number of times I'd thought about doing something cool and then forgot. It's just a human thing. No worries.
As abruptly as the hideous laughter began, it just as suddenly ceased. Daen's brow furrowed as he focused in on the fey creatures across the room. "That's not funny." He declared with vehement derision.
Suddenly dashing towards his love, his lingering blue blade arcing toward the grimple. He didn't like the two fey to either side of his angel, and he was looking to diminish the number as quickly as possible.
Well, my first roll was a 1, so it may not have gone quite that well. :) That was a nice crit though. Daen would be proud if his eyes weren't brimming with tears of happiness.
